Cosplay Closet Essentials: Busted Jetpack Cosplay
Busted Jetpack Cosplay is a 28-year-old cosplayer out of Seattle, Washington. His cosplays can be found at https://www.facebook.com/BustedJetpackCosplay/ and on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/bustedjetpackbustedjetpack, and his hijinks can be followed on Twitter at @bustedjetpack. Photo credits to Charmaine Morgan Photography (http://charmaine-morgan.com/)
How did you learn about cosplay? When did you get your start cosplaying?
“I actually got my start cosplaying with the 501st Star Wars costuming group back in 2010. I’ve been a huge Star Wars fan since my dad sat me down and showed me A New Hope for the first time and saw this as a great opportunity to meet new people and take my fandom passion to the next level. I perused the list of characters and immediately honed in on the Tusken Raider, which is still one of my favorite cosplays I’ve made to date.”
What are some of the cosplays that you have done?
“For some reason I’ve stuck mostly to fantasy role playing game characters; I think it might be because I’m comfortable making armor than sewing clothes. Last year I finished making Alistair Therin from Dragon Age: Origins and Cullen Rutherford from Dragon Age: Inquisition, and both of them have been a blast to wear around conventions. Following that trend, I’m actually working on an Iorveth costume from The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, which I am very excited to finish up! I’ve also dabbled a little bit in the costumed superhero genre of cosplay with a classic Vision from Marvel Comics.”
Have you done any prop making/fabrication? If so, how did you learn to fabricate?
“I have! Besides making various armor pieces out of EVA foam and various plastic materials, I have been having a blast making prop shields lately. As for how I learned to fabricate, I really have to give my cosplaying friends a lot of credit. They have shared a ton of crafting wisdom that has helped me improve as a cosplayer. Oh, and YouTube is another great source for learning prop making; there are a ton of in-depth tutorials on almost every aspect of crafting you’ll ever need to know.”
What’s the hardest part of cosplaying for you?
“Deciding which costume to make next is by far the hardest part of cosplaying. Every time I pick up a new game I think to myself, ‘Hey, I should totally cosplay that character!’ I think my list is at about a dozen or so characters at the moment and I have pieces of each lying around my apartment: a rough pass at Lord Shaxx’s helmet, a mockup of Thane Krios’s jacket, and a test build of a Red Lyrium Cullen Rutherford. But I will say having a pragmatic idea of how much time and effort each costume will take definitely helps to prioritize which character I’ll make next.”
What’s the best part of cosplaying?
“Meeting people. Over the last couple years, I have met some of the best people I know through cosplaying. As a whole, the cosplay community is group of wonderfully creative, supportive people that I have the pleasure to call friends. Everyone is always excited to see each other’s work, impart learnings and tips, as well as just have fun sharing our passions for geeky fandoms.”
If you had unlimited time and budget, what would be your dream cosplay?
“Captain Rex from the animated Clone Wars show, hands down. I’ve been fascinated with him as a character and his armor design is phenomenal. I keep telling myself one day I will take the plunge and start on it.”
Do you have any advice for burgeoning cosplayers out there?
“Don’t be afraid to fail. Sometimes you’re going to step out of your comfort zone when making a costume and it’s just not going to work out as planned; a mold or cast might crack on you or you might have accidentally made that coat one size too small. We have all been there and have felt the frustration, wanting to throw the piece out the window. But remember that every time we fail or make a mistake it’s an opportunity to learn and improve for the next time we try!”
Name three items you consider essential to any cosplayer’s closet.
“Emergency costume repair kit (duct tape, needle/thread, super glue, replacement parts… basically a survival kit in case your cosplay starts to fall apart at a con), a Dremel tool, and a bottle of your favorite liquor (for both celebrating and commiserating during the costume build process).”